Duality
by Chaotasin
Summary: To Kallian Surana, it seems her friend Natalia is forever getting her into trouble. This time however, things have gone a step too far into serious as both girls are dragged into an adventure beyond their wildest imagination. (FxSURANA/ZEV...FxAMELL/MORRIGAN.)
1. Bewitchment

**For those of you reading now... I apologise, for this means you have ultimately stumbled onto this page in hope of a glorious scope of wonder and fantasy fiction, incorporating your favourite dragon age characters (disclaimer: that heartbreakingly yet completely do not belong to me in any way, shape or form... whatsoever...) in a wonderful and exciting way. I would hope to achieve that. Unfortunately however, I have the attention span of a goldfish and even less motivation to get up and do anything; even if that means thinking. Thus, updates will most likely be relatively slow. For those of you who wish to continue, please do so – it is possible you may even enjoy it. If you don't however... you have been warned. **

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><p>Chapter One: Bewitchment<p>

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><p>Shadows flickered against the cold stone walls of the circle tower and little noise travelled through its halls, sleep descending on the majority of those they confined. For Natalia Amell however, the rise of the moon was simply an invitation to cause trouble... for her friend Kallian Surana, it was an opportunity to be dragged into such mayhem. Despite her objections, Kallian would have preferred to be nowhere else, quietly following her human accomplice into maker knew what next with a small albeit annoyed smile on her face.<p>

"Where exactly are we going?" Kallian whispered, her enquiry only to be met by a frustrating silence; frustrating, as it usually meant Natalia was definitely up to something. Grumbling exasperatedly, Kallian fell back into silence as she continued to creep along behind the incorrigible mage, stopping only when they reached First Enchanter Irving's office.

"There." announced the older woman, pushing a lock of dark hair from her face to glance back at her elven companion. Kallian looked on perplexed. Peering round the corner, she had a clear view of what Natalia was directing her towards… absolutely nothing. Irving had retired for the night hours before, leaving the room completely devoid of anything interesting. She turned back to the brunette, now decidedly irritated.

"Have you finally lost that tiny little mind of yours? This is what you dragged me all the way-" She was cut off from what was about to become a rather annoyed tirade by Natalia's hand pressing against her mouth.  
>"Shh! He's coming!"<p>

The silence that ensued was only broken by the sound of footsteps reverberating through the halls; it was a sound was distinctly akin to the hard slap of metal against the stone floors. From the other side of the room, Cullen came into view, scrolls grasped tightly in his hands, atop an old tome he gripped with equal intensity.

Natalia watched eagerly as he stopped, evaluating the troubled look that burdened his handsome features. She was only brought from her reverie when a vibration shot through the muscles in her hands, accompanied by a quiet mumble. Furrowing her brow, she looked to the source of the problem.

"Oh sorry… you were saying?" She said sheepishly, removing her hand from the aggravated elf's mouth. Kallian sucked in a deep breath, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"You mean after 'get your damn hand off my mouth?'" She sniped, only half angry in reality. It seemed to be their own ever present pretence. Natalia would do something ridiculous and foolish; all the while Kallian would become somehow tangled up in it, pretending to be angry. She found however, it was incredibly difficult to be mad at her friend, despite the trouble she brought her. In truth, she enjoyed it far more than she would ever let on.

"Yes, yes after that part." Natalia smirked, bright blue eyes twinkling in the firelight, and all was forgiven.

Kallian sighed, unable to keep herself from returning her friends mischievous grin.

"What are you getting me into this time Talia?" She whispered, only to have the brunette scoff at her, as if it were not such a regular occurrence and Kallian was simply being paranoid.

"Don't be silly. When do I ever get us in trouble?"

"Well there was that time that you decided to see how many tranquil you could zap before one became remotely distressed and made me record the results. How about the time you decided to steal that staff from the stock room and hid it under _my_ bed? Oh, and let's not forget all the times you got caught having sex in-" She was cut off once again by a now familiar hand on her lips.

"Oh shut up, it was a rhetorical question." Natalia hissed, rolling her eyes once again.

"Seriously though… the library Talia? And I can't believe you told them about me and Anders."

"Please stop talking." Natalia interrupted, desperately trying to steer the conversation away from herself and her misconducts.

"Just so that you got off easier." Kallian continued, clearly enjoying being in control of the situation.

That was of course until Natalia managed to turn the tables on her quicker than she could think to regret the words that were already too late to retract.

"I was getting off too much Kallian; that was problem." The human smirked, her eyes twinkling again with a familiar mirth that oft danced upon her features. Kallian could only sigh and admit defeat.

"Now, I saw Irving and Graegoir talking earlier. They called for Cullen and gave him those papers – orders of some sort – and 'an ancient tome vitally important to his training' or something else equally as dull and boring. Anyway, something is happening, I just want to know what."

Kallian sighed. She knew this was going to get her in trouble.

"All right, what's the plan?" She'd learned long ago that arguing with Natalia was pointless; the end result was always the same and it usually involved them both receiving a punishment of some sort.

"You're going to read the orders. Simple." She grinned, as if it really was that obvious. The elf however continued to stare at her blankly. It was times like these that Kallian truly questioned the sanity of her animated companion, raising her brow with a sigh.

"Did you somehow manage to forget the hulking steel plated watchman allocated specifically to crush the hopes of teeny, tiny and insignificant mages like say… I don't know. Us?" The elf criticised sarcastically. If she was honest with herself, she was partially intrigued as to what kind of plan Natalia could have possibly devised this time.

Her curiosity was very quickly sated.

"I suggest you find somewhere to hide." Natalia whispered. Such a short warning was all Kallian was given before Natalia stood to her full height and proceeded to strut straight into Irving's room, a familiar yet annoying smirk gracing her features the entire time.

Eyes wide in disbelief, Kallian crouched open mouthed at the doorway as she watched her friend confidently walk over to the seat Cullen was occupying , standing with her arms crossed in an obvious attempt to enhance her already generous curves. Cullen looked up with a start, his face probably mirroring the stunned expression Kallian was wearing.

"What… what are you…?" Cullen audibly gulped, his eyes unquestionably focusing lower than her face for a brief second. Steeling himself visibly, he took a deep breath and tried again.

"You're not supposed to be here. I should… I have to tell-" He was stopped when she pressed a hand to his chest; much gentler than the way she had quieted Kallian; it was a fact the elf noted with annoyance.

"I was looking for you." She said in what Kallian recognized as her 'sultry' tone. She would have laughed, if she didn't know that it always seemed to work. Cullen shivered, still caught somewhere between turned on and incredulous.

"You, you can't… I mean, we… you're supposed to be in the dorms!" He tried desperately, clawing for any kind hold on the reality he knew he should impose. Kallian could practically see him praying in his head.

"Well, why don't you escort me there now? You can give me a good dressing-down and I'll just have to enlighten you as to why I was here." Kallian had to admit, she was impressed. The innuendo encompassed within Natalia's words was both intolerable and enough to make the tips of her ears to flush, especially with the way Natalia was batting her lashes at a now quivering wreck that used to be the Templar Cullen.

"D-Dr-Dressing-down?" He whimpered, an image clearly embedding itself in his mind.

Natalia smiled warmly, knowing she had won before she'd even started.

"An admonishment of course. Still, I'll explain when we get there."

"Get where?"

"You'll see. Follow me." She purred, turning on her heel and heading towards the door. Kallian panicked, realising quickly that she probably should have followed her friend's advice and found a place to hide. Thankfully, her lithe elven form was an advantage as she moved quickly and quietly from her position to the nearest door, slinking through it unseen. She opened the door a little, leaving just enough room to peer out into the hall way, and see Cullen 'escorting' Natalia back to the mage's quarters.

Kallian almost felt bad for Cullen, knowing all too well what was about to happen.

Once they reached the mage's quarters, Natalia would lead him to one of her favourite locations, disappearing behind an alcove to the left of the dorm. Cullen would stare for a moment, before bidding her goodnight – forgetting all about the admonishment he was supposed to give – in a desperate attempt to escape before his desires got the better of him; after all, it was a well-known fact that he had been infatuated with Natalia Amell for a very long period of time.

Eventually however, with her hand on his arm, her lips pursed and her suggestive tone constantly surrounding him with new thoughts and images, he would flounder helplessly a final time before succumbing to what all had been known to call the "bewitchment". That, or the "whore's gaze", depending on how much said person liked Natalia.

Kallian shook her head with a sigh, wondering how she'd managed to find such a best friend.

Pulling the door open again, she crept back towards Irving's room, hesitating only slightly before tip toeing inside. She approached the desk cautiously, thumbing through the pages of parchment that were spread out across its surface. One thing that particularly caught her eye was the title of the tome, the word's blood magic inscribed with purpose on its cover.

Looking through the first of the papers, she saw ordinary documents formatting Templar shifts and a handwritten letter talking about the necessity for vigilance against the evils of mages, no doubt written by Graegoir himself. Towards the bottom of the pile however, was something all the more sinister.

Kallian gasped outright at the horror of what she was seeing. There, in her hands were orders for the apprentice Jowan to be made tranquil on the basis of suspected blood magic.

She knew Jowan. Both she and Natalia had been friends with him upon joining the circle and it disgusted her to think that they would do such a thing to a good man. However, it was not the true source of her anguish, for below his name was another.

There, for suspicion of the use and exploitation of blood magic, was an order for the mage Natalia Amell to be made tranquil upon dawn two days from then.

Following the next two night falls, her best friend was to be executed.


	2. Tower of Flames

**A lot of this chapter is flashback, just to flesh out the characters a little, but don't worry, we'll be getting to the action soon enough :) Also a huge thanks to my amazingly awesome beta FrellingBlighter as for some reason I kept deciding to write half of the chapter in first person.**

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><p>Chapter Two: Tower Of Flames<p>

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><p>The atmosphere was thick with tension as Anders mulled over the information he'd been presented with, his brow furrowed above intense brown eyes. As she watched, Kallian swore she could see the thoughts swirling beneath their depths, jumping from one emotion to another with equal swiftness. She had been in the position to admire such a moment in the past, lying with him in silence, staring into his eyes with a smile as he tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear.<p>

Their relationship – if it could be called as such – was often as short lived as his escape attempts however; he would often try to escape their prison and find freedom outside its walls. There were countless times in which he had begged her to accompany him, though each time she was reluctant to leave without her best friend.

Natalia had been her rock since coming to the circle, despite how odd it may seem. During her first few weeks, she had often found it terrifying to be surrounded by so many humans after a childhood as a Dalish.

One night, when slavers came upon their aravels, she had been captured and caged like an animal. It was only when she tried to escape did she realise she possessed magic. Unfortunately, it was also the moment her captors realised the same thing. Sold to the Templars - who were more than willing to look the other way about the slavery if it meant another mage was safely locked away - she shied away from most company. It seemed that even when she tried to converse, the other children were equally intimidated by her, with her pointy ears and strange uncertainty around humans.

So she remained content to sit quietly in lessons, apparently displaying her best invisible elf impression. That all changed drastically however when a young human girl was thrust into her life by a heavy Templar hand.

IXIXIXIX IXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

"_Watch this one. She's… energetic." Said the Templar in a gruff tone, his clear distaste for the girl only increased when despite her obvious fear, she turned to smirk at him. With a grimace, he turned on his heel and walked away with what could only be described as an uncomfortable limp. Seeing this, the girl's grin widened, before she truly took in her surroundings. This was to be her prison and she observed it as such, surveying it's stone walls with a fierce curiosity before turning her gaze on the others in the room._

"_Welcome to the circle. What's your name child?" The girl quickly focused her attention on Wynne, the groups instructor._

"_Natalia." She said indignantly, clearly becoming vexed by her unfamiliar surroundings. _

"_Well Natalia, why don't you come and sit down with us?" Wynne offered with a friendly smile, gesturing to the space beside her with her hand._

_Natalia took her seat, maintaining a cautious expression_.

"_Today we're learning about simply calling forth light to aid us. It's really easy to do once you know how. Now, think hard about what you're going to do and breathe deeply. Just feel it happen, like so." Wynne smiled as a ball of light burst forth onto her palm, shining a bright white like the sun. A few collective gasps could be heard before everyone began staring at their own hands intently, eyes squinting in concentration._

_Kallian closed her eyes and kept her breathing steady, trying to feel the gift of magic within her. She thought of Wynne's light and how pretty it was, until she could almost feel it's warmth on her hand._

_More gasps could be heard. _

_Curious, Kallian opened her eyes, only to be blinded by a bright light, magnificent and beautiful in her grasp. The other students were looking at her with envy, before turning back and trying again. Soon, more and more lights were gleaming, like a force against the shadows in the room, eliminating all darkness in the world. Kallian smiled; proud that she had made something so beautiful. She had never been the best with tests, like Geoffrey or Alana, but she loved to read and draw. It was here that her imagination grew to outmatch the other children. It was here she learned her art as a mage, using things that had never helped her before to finally do something good; do something better than other people. _

_She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Geoffrey and Alana's faces when she was the one to make her light first. They were always first at everything, remembering all the theory and writing brilliant answers to questions she couldn't… and they never let her forget it. It may have only been a light, but it felt like something special._

_It was then she noticed the distinct lack of light beside her. The new girl, Natalia hadn't even tried yet, still looking around with loathing at the cold expanse of stone surrounding them. That was before she noticed Kallian's stare however. She returned the look with raised brows, blinking at her as if seeing her for the first time. Kallian smiled shyly, before looking back at her hands embarrassed at being caught staring._

_Hearing a sigh, she looked back at the human beside her who had resorted to looking at her hands with a disinterested expression. After just being ripped away from her family and dropped into somewhere so unfamiliar, she no doubt had more on her mind than making pretty lights with her fingers. _

_Obviously thinking along a similar thought track, Natalia's expression grew colder, anger tainting her features with a darkness that seemed overwhelming even in such brightness. A red tinge began to glow about her hands, growing hotter and hotter the colder her expression became until a pillar of flame erupted into being before them, scorching the air. _

_The surprise on Natalia's own face mirrored that of everyone else's. _

"_That counts as a light yes?" She tried innocently with a sheepish smile as the rug beneath their feet caught fire. The panic was soon ended when Wynne came to her senses and set the rug awash with water from her own hands. _

"_No." She answered sternly, still looking slightly shocked at the events that had taken place as she pulled the rug before her to stare at Natalia through the rather large and smoking, black, singed hole that now adorned it. Natalia gulped at the look she was receiving from the old tutor. _

"_Believe it or not, that was a complete accident." She shrugged, scanning the room with her eyes as everyone stared incredulously. Growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, she raised a pointed finger at Kallian in an attempt to shift the attention. _

"_She knocked me." _

_Kallian gasped angrily at the girl who now refused to meet her eyes. She could almost feel her eyes fill with tears as everyone stared at her accusingly, feeling - not for the first time - how cruel life was and very alone. Everyone was always against her and she never really understood why. How could this girl hate her enough already to blame her for such a thing? _

"_I want the two of you to wait for Irving in his office. Now." Wynne said calmly, watching carefully as the two young girls traipsed off sheepishly, heads hung low._

_They sat in silence for a while, one silently guilty while the other internally fumed. Natalia was the first to break the silence._

"_Sorry." She mumbled apologetically, biting her lip. Kallian turned to eye her sceptically, sincerely doubting that this shem was any different from all the others who treated her like something they'd stepped in; especially after what she'd done._

"_I uhm… I just didn't want to be in trouble on my own on my first day." She continued, staring at the floor while she nervously fiddled with her hands. Kallian had noticed it was something the girl did a lot, even when she had been grinning confidently at the Templar who brought her in; her fear had been hidden in the discreet fidgeting of her hands. Kallian began to see a little more about the girl than she had perhaps first thought._

"_My name's Kallian." The elf muttered back with a half-smile. Natalia returned it with double the enthusiasm, which in turn tugged at the corners of Kallian's lips infectiously. _

"_Natalia." The girl offered out a hand, which Kallian looked at cautiously before slowly grasping it lightly in return. The silence returned, though less uncomfortable than before. This again, was broken first by Natalia. _

"_Your ears are funny." She smirked, looking at Kallian's ears with an innocent amusement that differed from the other children's taunting remarks, but still affected Kallian enough to make the tips of said ears burn with both embarrassment and shame as she averted her gaze. It was soon drawn back however when Natalia did the most unexpected thing…_

"_I like them." _

_She became her first real friend._

IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Kallian stared intently at Anders, waiting for him to break his angry silence. He had never gotten on particularly well with Natalia - snide remarks and witty comebacks were exchanged between the two incessantly – but he would always be the first to speak out against the injustices that were placed upon mages. He certainly would never abide by an illegal tranquillity being forced upon someone who had already passed their harrowing. In point of fact, she had been the fastest person ever to complete it.

Despite her lack of effort in almost every area of study, she - like Kallian - took naturally to magic from a young age; the firestorm incident from their youth had been an impressive feat, something some students had still yet to master despite their hardest efforts. Kallian still remembered the look on Irving's face when he walked into his office that day, not angry in the slightest. Graegoir had been a different story of course, but Irving was simply impressed at the potential of the mages before him, both with a natural flair and talent that he hadn't seen in a long time.

Everyone had been impressed with Kallian's harrowing, being put forward before Natalia - despite the brunette being three years older - due to her sense of responsibility being evidently more prominent than that of her friend's. When Natalia had finally undertaken her test however, she had passed with flying colours and demons hide having been thoroughly kicked all over the fade.

When others asked how she had managed it, she simply replied that no silly mouse demon would ever fool the most awesomely powerful mage to have ever lived. Kallian had heard a different story altogether however.

Apparently demons didn't take kindly to you accidentally tripping and landing on them when they were in mouse form. One second there was a squashed rodent, the next a demon popped out… and Kallian had been reliably informed that it was an awkward and uncomfortable moment for both parties involved.

Kallian smiled fondly at the memory, rolling her eyes at how very 'Talia' it was. She had to stop the Templars hurting her friend.

"They can't do this. It goes against all chantry law to make someone who's already passed their harrowing tranquil. It's not right!" Anders fumed; his brows drawn together in a serious expression that she rarely ever saw grace his features.

"I mean, maker knows I'm not the woman's biggest fan…" Kallian rolled her eyes as he continued.

"But she definitely doesn't deserve this. Even I know she would never touch blood magic. We have to do something!" Kallian rolled her eyes again with a scoff, knowing fine well that they had to do something. It was why she had gone to Ander's in the first place, despite the extensive Templar guard outside his room she knew he would be able to think of something. He was _very_ inventive.

Kallian blushed at the turn her thoughts had taken, shaking herself before coming back to the situation at hand. Anders was busy pacing the length of his room, hand on chin as he repeated the word 'think' like a mantra, before sighing and stopping to face her.

"Give me a little time. I'll think of something." He soothed sincerely. Even his honest brown eyes did nothing to calm the swelling panic that was quickly rising in her chest and threatening to consume her.

"But we don't have time Anders! It's… She's-" A lone tear graced her cheek as she looked up at him through glassy eyes. He gathered her up in his arms, placing a kiss on the top of her head before stretching out his arms to look her in the eye.

"Look at me. Does this handsome face ever lie? Of course not. So believe me when I say that nothing is going to happen to Natalia. We will do something and we will stop it. I Promise." His kind smile broadened to a grin when she nodded, sniffing quietly with a look of determination on her face.

"Okay. I'll come back later tonight." She whispered her voice shaky; she was still half worried that the tears would arrive again at any moment. But she refused. Tears would get her nowhere… they would get Natalia nowhere and she was resolved to focusing entirely on finding a way to help her friend.

As she reached the doorway, she turned to see Anders rubbing at the crease in his brow, a troubled expression clouding his face.

"Anders?" His head snapped up at his name as he regarded her with a questioning look.

"Thank you." She smiled, and with that, left him to his plans.

As she made her way down the hall, she caught sight of another shadow besides her own, flickering beside her own.

"What do you want?" She said as she turned to see Jowan staring at her nervously, eyes twitching this way and that as if paranoid, seeing something in his peripheral vision. A sister of the chantry stood beside him, a friendly smile on her face. Kallian could only imagine what was going on, however her thoughts were too preoccupied with the knowledge that this man too would soon be condemned to a fate worse than death. A sadness swept over her, to see another innocent life about to be snuffed out; another friend.

"I need to talk to you in private. Where's Natalia?"

"She's right here." Kallian was cut off by a familiar voice as the woman in question bounded into sight, a satisfied grin lighting up her face. Kallian's chest restricted at the thought of never seeing that again, only a hollow mask, a mockery of the woman who used to be her best friend. It was a horrifying thought.

"You look rather… cheerful." Remarked Jowan, for a moment distracted from his worries by the infectious glow exuding from the woman opposite him.

"Cullen; surprisingly wonderful sword work." She winked, leaving no doubt as to what it was she was suggesting. Jowan laughed despite himself and even Kallian herself felt a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. The sister beside them however looked rather bemused.

"The Templar Cullen? Why would you have seen his sword work?" She asked, to the pure abandoned delight of Natalia, whose eyes lit up.

"He was showing me how good he is. Me and Cullen, we're like that." She grinned, her fingers crossed before the sister's eyes, who still seemed rather confused.

"Oh leave her alone you bully." Kallian giggled, feeling a brief moment of freedom in her friends' presence against all odds as she nudged her in the ribs.

"What's she doing here anyway?" Natalia asked bluntly.

"She means that in the nicest possible way." Kallian added with a roll of her eyes.

The girl looked at Jowan with a smile, which he returned in a sickeningly sweet fashion, their eyes meeting as if they were sharing a conversation through them. Jowan looked back at Natalia and Kallian, grasping the girl's hand in his and opened his mouth to speak. The words never formed however, as he was cut off by an excited looking Natalia.

"Oh I get it… this is that girl you said you were rutting with?" And before she had even put a thought into them, the words were out of her mouth. Kallian slapped her forehead with her hand when Lily gasped in outrage, pulling her hand from Jowan's.

"What? I mean… not in so many words. He said it much more eloquently and politely and… uhm, you were saying?" She smiled at Jowan hopefully, trying to save the situation.

"What I said, was that I had met a girl and we were in love." He placated, looking sternly at Natalia before shooting a glance at his beloved.

"Oh yes, that was it." Natalia replied with a firm nod of her head, mostly directed at the girl, who looked placated for the most part.

"Well this is her, Lily."

"Well it's nice to meet you Lily. Oh and my condolences. You'll need them with Jowan." Kallian offered with a smile, to which Lily replied with a laugh, Jowan with an indignant sigh.

"Yes, nice to meet you. I promise I don't always walk around with my foot in my mouth. Only sometimes when I feel like life would otherwise be too easy." Natalia grinned, offering her hand out apologetically. Lily took it gracefully with another chuckle.

"I'm afraid that not all my news is so happy. As I said, we need to talk privately. Follow me." Jowan said, returning to his previous twitchy state, exchanging a nervous glance with Lily before turning on his heel and leading the group down the hall.

Kallian missed the questioning look that Natalia shot her, her gaze was focused on her feet as they followed in the direction their friend had lead, with a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what it was Jowan wanted to talk about.


	3. On The Run

**Quite a bit of Cullen in this chapter, just 'cause I love him. Not as much as I love Morrigan of course, so he definitely won't be getting his happy little Amell wedding and such, but I feel I owe it to the guy to give him a little more text-time for being so darned adorable. Anyway, I promise we'll be getting to the main game soon, after a chapter of what may be relatively confusing flashback sequences. What can I say? I'm a flashback whore. Ooh, also… there is a big Dragon Age two link, which my friend and I thought was neat, as it would be able to be referenced in her story. It also made some other things easier to explain later. You'll see…**

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><p>Chapter Three: On The Run<p>

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><p>Breathing becoming ragged, Natalia forced herself to keep moving. Her legs were burning with an ache that coursed through her very being, seemingly tearing at her insides as she ran faster than she had ever had need to before. She didn't know how long she could keep going at the pace she was, with no thought for direction or destination.<p>

She did know however, that it was necessary.

Trees and branches whirred past her as she went, the landscape blurring into a hue of colour and sound, only made worse by the tears that had begun to fill her eyes. She was desperately trying to hold them back – she had never been one for crying – but the constricting pain in her chest was not even close to the hurt she felt welling up inside at the thought of how bad things had turned out.

Once again, she was awfully aware of how alone she was as she raced through the trees, urged on only by the refusal to let everyone's sacrifice be in vain. For that reason, more so than any thought for her own life was why she continued to run, leaping over fallen branches and dodging past thick trunks at incredible speed, unwavering even as her fatigue grew to increasingly painful heights. Adrenaline was doing most of her work for her, combined with the sheer force of will to survive driving her onwards.

Despite her determination, there were times that her legs felt ready to collapse from beneath her and that her chest would explode, when she felt sure she could go no longer. It was times like these, in which she briefly wondered how things had managed to go so wrong…

IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

_Cullen knelt pensively at the feet of a stone Andraste, his hands clasped and his eyes shut tight in an attempt to stop seeing that blasted mage everywhere around him. It was no use, as even when he closed his eyes, she was all he saw. _

_It had been the same since he had arrived at the Circle, seeing her for the first time with her head in a book, a confused expression pulling her brows in opposite directions as she chewed on her lower lip. Her delicate face was framed softly by two waving strands of hair that fell from either side of her bun. _

_With a sigh, she took her hand from the book and pulled at the bun until it was undone, releasing a long cascade of dark hair, falling past her shoulders in waterfall of chestnut hues. He remembered thinking that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, his chest constricting in surprise after being brought up in a chantry of stern, old women. _

_He also remembered smiling humorously from behind his helmet when she sighed; throwing the book back onto the table with a noise that sounded something akin to "meh", completed with a shrug for emphasis. _

_Moments such as that seemed to happen often after that, feeling his heart warm a little more each time he saw her. Even when she was causing trouble with her elven friend Kallian, he couldn't bring himself to be angry or severe because every time it happened she had a mischievous glint in her eye and a smile on her face that only seemed to make his breath hitch and chest even tighter. _

_Eventually, his secret admiration from afar, developed into an infatuation which left him a stumbling mess whenever he was around her, his thoughts beginning to drift towards the unholy. It was wrong. He knew that mage's were unpredictable and dangerous; it was his job to hunt them down and kill them should they ever step out of line. _

_Yet there he was, a Templar in love with a mage. _

_He was wary to admit his love, even to himself. It was a violation against the maker and he knew it was wrong. So how then could it feel so perfect? He had tried to stay away from her for a long time, hoping to avoid ever being in the position to break his vows. Ultimately however, he had failed when faced with those crystalline eyes that stared up at him with pure want and perfect, soft lips drawing ever nearer to his._

_He couldn't believe that he had broken his vows, yet part of him was completely unable to regret it. Still, he knew he had to talk to her about where they stood._

_As he was about to stand up from his position in the corner, he heard a familiar voice resonate against the walls of the room from the doorway. _

"_Tranquil! What do you mean Tranquil Jowan? Th-they can't! it's… are you sure?" Came Natalia's panicked voice, almost bordering on a desperation that made his heart break. Kallian's voice followed._

"_Talia… that document in Irving's room you asked me to look at, it had the orders on it. I saw it with my own eyes. Look, don't worry because-" Her voice slowly trailed off as she caught a slow movement in the corner of her eye, quickly flicking her head in its direction._

_Soon, all eyes were fixated on Cullen's now visible form, wearing a distraught expression that punched the air from Natalia's lungs as, his eyes glued to hers with pure abject pain and accusation. After a few moments of painful silence, Cullen straightened his shoulders and stormed straight past the group into the hall, determined to put as much distance from himself and that lying, calculating mage as possible. _

"_Cullen! Wait-" He soon heard rushed footsteps following his, followed by a hand resting on his plated arm. Instantly, he pulled back like he'd been stung, turning to face her with a rage that no-one had ever witnessed from him before. Natalia looked taken aback by the fury evident in his features, even worse when it did nothing to hide the anguish that lay beneath it. _

"_You used me!" He stated, his jaw set into a hard line. Natalia sighed. Despite being awful with anything remotely emotional, she found that she hated having hurt him. In reality, she hated to hurt anyone, or disappoint them; for that reason, it was easier to let them have low expectations of her in the first place. Cullen however, had always put her on a pedestal and it was something she didn't know how to deal with, as the fall had been a painful one. _

"_In part. And I'm sorry. I…" Her gaze fell to the floor, cursing – not for the first time - how bad she was at expressing her feelings._

"_Believe it or not, I really do like you. In fact, you're probably one of my favourite people in this entire circle. Not that I have anyone outside the circle, so I guess that means you're one of my favourite people in general. I mean-" She mentally slapped herself for beginning to sound as nervous as he usually did. Cullen simply regarded her coolly, before turning and starting to leave._

"_They're going to kill me Cullen." Natalia knew it was unfair to drop all her problems on him so suddenly, but from what he had heard already, and the mood he was in, their plan would be over before it had even begun if he ran off and told Graegoir._

_He turned again, all hatred washed from his face only to be replaced with a confused horror._

"_What?" At hearing the worry in his voice, Natalia was sure she could trust him. She had to trust him; without this, they would fail._

"_They think it's blood magic, my sway over people; especially you. How could a Templar fall prey to a mage if it weren't for blood magic?" She muttered angrily, unable to believe that anyone could think such a thing. Was it truly so implausible that she was simply that good of a whore? 'Apparently so' she sighed to herself._

"_They can't just kill you." He sounded so sure, though in part, it was obvious he was trying to assure himself more than anything._

"_You're right. They're going to make me tranquil instead."_

_The shock on his face would have almost been laughable, if it hadn't been for the grief that underlay such an expression. He swallowed the frantic outburst that threatened to spill forth quickly, attempting to stay calm as best as possible._

"_They wouldn't do that. It goes against all chantry law to make a full mage tranquil. You passed your harrowing; you're no longer an apprentice. It's not possible." He spoke defiantly, still desperately hoping he was right, clawing at any chance that this was all some kind of sick joke._

_The look on Natalia's face told a different story._

"_You saw my markings Cullen, on my back. Do you know what they mean?" Cullen shook his head, not trusting his voice at that particular moment. She continued._

"_They mean that I am far more valuable to them alive than dead. They mean that the potential power I possess is too important for them to waste. No, better to keep me as a mindless slave don't you think?" She spat the words out bitterly, unable to meet his eyes._

"_I don't understand." It was an understatement. Cullen was barely able to keep track of anything with all the thoughts whirring round his head, incomprehensible fears and desperation clawing at his insides._

_The two were interrupted by quiet footfalls. They turned to see Kallian joining them, a sad look in her green eyes. _

"_Those markings are the work of a very evil man with an impossible idea that almost cost Natalia her life and wiped most of her memories of her childhood. Those markings should have killed her outright. Lyrium, embedded in the skin – especially the skin of a mage – should be lethal. But he found a way. Sick bastard." She muttered angrily, silently cursing the man responsible for such evil. Cullen however, was still wrapping his head around the whole idea._

"_Lyrium? That's… but, that's impossible."_

_Natalia sighed. She really wasn't prepared to rehash the event that had brought her the pale tattoo like swirls that traced her spine, nor the unfathomable lengths to which a madman had gone in order to create a super-mage. She certainly wasn't ready to go into detail about the process itself; it had been the single most excruciating experience of her life, something she could still remember so vividly as being her first memory. Or one of her first at least; little things came back to her every so often, through a scent or an image that reminded her of a time otherwise lost to her._

"_It doesn't matter. There's only one thing that truly makes a difference to any of this... was it blood magic?" Cullen looked taken aback by Natalia's question, who was now staring at him pointedly with a indecipherable expression._

"_Sorry?" _

"_Am I a blood mage? You either believe as they do, or you're on our side, and it all comes down to whether you broke your vows because I used a vile magic to get inside your head, or because you - a Templar – did the unthinkable, and fell in love with a mage." _

_There was an abrupt silence as Cullen regarded Natalia thoughtfully. It would be easy to say yes. She was a blood mage and had forced him to break his vows, something that was completely out of his control._

_He knew it was a serious possibility; she could have easily manipulated him in such a way if she were indeed a maleficar. She could even have sway in his mind even now, sinking in her claws as he stood there defenceless. He almost wished that were the case. But as he looked into those now so familiar eyes - feeling his heart squeeze pitifully as he remembered every smile – he knew that he could blame no one but himself for the way he felt when he was around her. _

_He loved her._

"_You're not a blood mage." He whispered, knowing what it meant. Letting her be made tranquil was not even close to being an option and the vast array of rules he would have to break for this woman were overwhelmingly shameful. Though, as both she and Kallian grinned, wrapping their arms around him he couldn't bring himself to care. Her smile was like watching the clouds part and seeing the maker himself cast a heavenly light in their place. To keep that alive, he would do anything._

_It was then the three parted at a new voice in their midst. They turned to see Anders with a smug grin on his face._

"_Welcome to the team Cullen. Now, would you like to hear the plan?" _

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

During her long run, Natalia had often thought that she had never properly thanked Anders for the part he played in her escape. She also regretted not saying all the things she should have said to Jowan and Cullen; most of all however, she wished she could have said goodbye to Kallian. She couldn't have known that they wouldn't make it with her however, but she berated herself all the same.

She could soon feel the hot tears streaming down her cheeks, making a horizontal path due to the wind that rushed past.

The plan had never been perfect. It was a rushed and desperate affair, a result of great risk and terrible urgency. Though they all knew that there was no other option; a fate worse than death awaited them if they failed to go through with it. Though, as she ran couldn't help but wonder if it had been worth it. She would forever be running… alone.

The thought terrified her. She had risked so many people to save her own hide.

A gasp of frustration and pain could be heard in the near silence of a clearing she had recently journeyed into as her foot caught on a loose rock on the ground. She bit back more frustrated tears, adamant that she would not succumb to such weakness, but push on in haste, lest her friends sacrifices be all for nought.

Her weakness got the better of her however, as she lay defeated in the cool grass, comforting her broken form. She was suddenly aware of how tired she was, the seemingly ever strengthening fatigue resting heavily on her shoulders and refusing her the ability to pick herself up.

She knew the Templars could arrive at any moment. Though she had gotten a head start in their little race, Natalia had no clue as to where she was heading, other than a general Eastern direction. She was aware she had passed by close to Highever the day before, afraid to go any closer to the population for fear of Templars that would be sure to grace the chantry there.

She had originally hoped to eventually reach Denerim and destroy her Phylactery, but originally there were also supposed to be others helping her. Things seemed to have a way of not working out at all. Instead - drained and unsure of herself - she continued to wander, picking off animals and finding streams where she could.

Those hunting her however, knew the lay of the land. They knew exactly where she was and how to find her at all times. The thought was not an encouraging one.

She didn't know how long she had been lying before - as if to answer her nightmares - she suddenly heard the sound she had been waiting for. The heavy rustling of grass alerted her to a great many people approaching at speed and for a moment, she was almost resigned to her fate.

So tired and alone, she couldn't help but feel a little hopeless. She couldn't run forever, and she certainly couldn't find and destroy her phylactery by herself; that was even considering whether she made it to Denerim at all. No, in that brief moment she was almost glad it was over. Almost.

It was in that brief moment of despair that Kallian's voice popped into her mind.  
>'Don't you dare give up now idiot; you are not a quitter…Fight damn you!' Her Kallian-mind-double was right and she knew it. Natalia was not a quitter, and if anything she was determined to go out swinging.<p>

With a new found resolve she picked herself up off the ground, dusting herself off without even caring to glance in her company's direction.

"Finally, you will meet your justice maleficar." The helmeted Templar spoke every word with an assertive self-righteousness that made Natalia grit her teeth in anger. She finally looked his way, refusing to flinch at the sight of ten Templars lined up and ready to destroy her.

"Just try and kill me. Let's see how dead you get." She smirked. Unfairly, she couldn't quite judge their reaction to her arrogance.

"You misunderstand me. Graegoir wants you brought back alive. Apparently your talents are too rare to go to waste. Besides, death is far too lenient for your sort if you ask me."

"I don't think anybody would. You're clearly not the sharpest sword in the armoury if you think you're going to get me back to that prison."

To her surprise, he laughed, though there was nothing humorous in it. His laughter was something different entirely, something spiteful and cruel. Seconds later she realised why.

"Kallian!"


	4. Under The Skin

Chapter Four: Under The Skin

* * *

><p><em>All four of them gathered, backed away from the shaky wooden door of the house they were hiding out in - Kallian, Natalia, Jowan and Lilly – all looking as nervous as each other. <em>

_Destroying Jowan's phylactery had felt like there was a line being crossed and there was no turning back once it had been stepped over. It was a ridiculous feeling to have, knowing that the moment those documents had been signed, their attempted escape would be inevitable. Still, they all seemed to hold their breath as Jowan held the vial above the ground, watching it in absolute silence every second it was falling, closer and closer to destruction. _

_The result admittedly had been rather anticlimactic - as Natalia had of course felt the need to point out – but the deed had been done, and there was undeniably no other way out._

_Since that moment, they'd been running, Cullen helping Anders to stage another of his escape attempts had provided the perfect cover for their own, the four of them slipping away unnoticed as the Templars chased after their friend. _

_Kallian had felt especially guilty about letting Anders do such a thing for them, but eventually his earnest eyes and easy smile had won out, insistent that he help her this one final time. Cullen's solemn promise to help had been similar, though tinged with the regret of going against his own, even if they would never know. Both men had received a farewell kiss, before bidding goodbye to the party to stage their coup. _

_A day later and the group had been running solidly for what felt like forever, desperate to make it to Denerim in order to destroy the other two mages' phylacteries before their hunters could catch up to them. Their fatigue had eventually caught up with them however, as they found an abandoned farm house to spend the night in and rest themselves. _

_Their rest had not lasted all that long however, as the deadbolt on the door had begun to shake violently during their sleep. The four woke suddenly, aware of the immense force being pushed repeatedly against the wooden panels from the outside. The angry shouting confirmed their worst fears; the Templars had indeed caught up to them. The word 'maleficar' could be heard often, along with the grunting of effort as they continued to batter the farmhouse door. _

_Lilly hid shyly behind Jowan's arm, Natalia and Kallian taking the forefront of the group, readying themselves for battle as the door finally broke. The shining metal plate of the attacking monsters gleamed mockingly in the breaking dawn's sun._

"_Grab the traitor!" The leader motioned towards Lilly first as she cowered fearfully behind her lover. A Templar from the back knocked Jowan out of the way, grabbing her arm and wrenching her towards the door._

"_No!" Jowan cried, pulling a dagger from his robes and dragging it across his palm angrily, muttering foreign words as his eyes slipped closed. The other three stared in shock as his eyes re-opened a crimson red._

_The Templars barely got out a cry of 'blood magic!' before Jowan thrust his hands forward and knocked the commander backwards into his comrades. _

"_Quick Lilly, come on!" Jowan reached out for her, only to have her retract her hand like she had been stung, a vicious betrayal playing behind her watering eyes. _

"_I'll never come with you, maleficar!" She disappeared behind a crowd of steel, leaving only the three of them in the room, facing a wall of silver. Jowan's eyes slowly filled a bloody red once again._

"_Jowan, no!" Neither Kallian nor Natalia were sure who had shouted, as the same thought had crossed both their minds in a futile attempt to stop the foolish actions of their friend. Quickly, they found themselves flung backwards in a circle of bodies falling to the ground due to Jowan's rushed escape._

_Now down to two, Kallian and Natalia exchanged a look of horror. They were soon urged into action when the Templars began picking themselves up from the floor, drawing their swords and starting towards them; their collective body blocked out the light from the doorway, and seemingly any hope of escape. Refusing to give up, the young mages both nodded towards each other, before channelling their elements, ice and fire respectively forming in a glowing orb in their palms._

_Kallian turned to the Templars, unleashing a wall of frost before their advancing attack, sending them to a halting stop. Natalia turned to the stone wall beside them, blasting a hole straight through to let the light of hope stream through the break._

_Natalia reached the gaping entryway first, grasping Kallian's hand tightly as she followed behind her. Abruptly, Kallian's hand was ripped away from Natalia's grasp just as she made out into the freedom of the open air. Turning in panic, she saw her friend being dragged backwards by the monsters that called themselves protectors._

"_Kallian!" A furious shout broke free from her lips as she saw the rough hands pulling at such delicate arms. She started back towards the opening, only to see Kallian's distress increase._

"_Get out of here Natalia!" cried the elf, pushing a wave of energy toward her human counterpart, sending her sprawling even further away from the house. The remaining Templars began to organize, sending others toward the opening and after Natalia. _

_Panic overcame both girls as their eyes met, time seeming to stop as Natalia watched the plan formulate in Kallian's mind._

"_Kallian no!" Her scream fell upon deaf ears as the elf raised her hand towards the roof of the house, above the opening. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as their eyes met a final time._

"_Run!" _

_It was the last thing Natalia heard from her friend's mouth as she watched the whole structure begin to shake, before crumbling in on itself in a sudden horrific crash, blocking off any entrance to what looked more like a tomb than a farm house. In that moment, the brunette had never felt so alone. Nor had she ever felt so afraid. Nevertheless, she'd be damned if she wasn't going to abide by what may very well have been her best friend's final wish._

_So with a heavy heart, she took one last glance at the farmhouse, before running as fast as her legs could carry her._

IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

An amalgamation of relief and horror washed through Natalia the moment she saw Kallian's face. The liberation she felt at knowing her friend was indeed alive spread throughout her soul in an instant; so much so that she was unable to keep an unwanted smile from tugging at the corners of her lips.

That was until a Templar grabbed Kallian roughly by the hair. The elf already looked battered and bruised from her stunt days before, but coupled with the aggression that this monster was using towards her friend viciously fanned the flames of a ferocious anger that was already building in the pit of her stomach.

Before she realised what was happening, her hands had begun to glow a blinding white, spreading down her arms and slowly creating a menacing aura about her body. The tribal Lyrium markings on her palms – a sharp, swirling cross of white lines that formed the sun and the moon – were shining brightly, building in intensity until it was almost unbearable.

The smug Templar released Kallian's hair, the smirk on his face disappearing slowly, to be replaced by a wariness that fell perilously close to outright fear. Now it was Natalia's turn to smirk. With a flick of her wrist, the light from her palms was released in a focused beam that punched a hole straight through the man's chest.

The other Templars looked on in horror as their comrade's lifeless corpse fell to the floor. Even Kallian staggered back in astonishment. Moments of quiet silence passed, before an all-out war broke out. Kallian fought desperately to keep the Templars at bay through her weariness. Apparently, the effort of bringing an entire house down around you was just as painful as actually having said house land on you.

Still, with all the determination she could muster, she cast various spells to ward off the men that had managed to flank Natalia when she got careless. When others neared her, she sent cones of frost and ice in their direction, freezing them in place, only to shatter their limbs with a stone fist, punching straight through their various helpless forms. Even this however began to take its toll on her broken body, forcing her ever closer to a welcoming unconsciousness.

Natalia quickly picked off the ones left one by one, with a seemingly endless supply of mana fuelling her as she rained fire down on her enemies, chains of lightening passing between them until the majority of the men lay dead at her feet. The commander of the group stood vigilant amongst the dead, his sword raised in defence. He attempted to cleanse the area of magic, only to realise that the Lyrium coursing through Natalia's veins and embedded in her skin was more than enough magic for anyone to fight against such a futile attempt.

He gulped visibly, before feeling a crushing pressure on his body, drawing him into the air and ripping him apart inside far in a slow and agonising prison that tore at every inch of him until the peace of death finally embraced his spirit as his body crumpled on the ground.

With the final corpse littering the floor, a surge of release passed through Natalia, the white energy dissipating in an instant. She let out a gasp of exertion as it disappeared, leaving her drained and worn. She quickly cast off such feelings of fatigue to rush to Kallian's side. She pulled the girl's head onto her knees, trying to wake her softly despite the gnawing worry that clawed at her insides.

"Impressive." Natalia looked back at the sound of a man's voice, calling out from mere metres behind her. There stood an older man in well used white armour, an captivated smile on his lips. A black beard adorned his jaw, joining at the ears with his long dark hair, donned in a tight braid that fell to his shoulders. He was followed by two other men - one considerably plumper than the other – who wore matching awe-struck expressions.

"Who are you?" Natalia questioned, her cautiousness growing in the face of more armed strangers.

"Fear not my child, we mean you no harm." He said softly, his kind eyes looking down on her with nothing but honesty.

"Yes? You obviously don't mean me much help either. No really, thanks for the backup." She sniped sarcastically out of habit; she was often tetchy when uncomfortable or threatened. She realised as an afterthought however that it probably wasn't the best idea to make the armed man angry.

To her surprise he simply smiled tolerantly.

"Grey Wardens are unfortunately unable to take sides in battles such as these. Thankfully, it did not seem that either of you needed much help anyway." Natalia re-evaluated the man with an awe that she found hard to hide from her face.

"You're grey wardens?"

"Duncan here is. Me? I'm just a lowly thief who is extremely happy to meet you. Name's Daveth." The thinner man winked, without even possessing the decency to hide his wandering eyes. He offered a hand out to her, though soon retracted said hand after it became apparent that the woman was not particularly in the mood to make friends.

Duncan stepped in then.

"Actually, I have recruited both Daveth and Ser Jory into our order, though they have yet to take their joining. Seeing both of your abilities however, and the trouble you two are in, I was wondering if you might consider coming with us." He offered proudly, as Natalia knelt in the grass, staring back in amazement.

"Us? You want us to become Grey Wardens? You don't care that we're apostates? What about the Templars?" The possibilities were flooding her mind, a thousand questions drowning out the obvious yes she wished to answer him with.

His smile grew.

"I will be honest. Times are hard and the darkspawn hoard gathers in the South. This is to be the beginning of a blight – never a good time to be a grey warden – though the archdemon has yet to be seen. We need all the help we can get, especially such obviously talented individuals such as yourselves. I can promise however that no Templars will bother you while you serve our order, but once a grey warden…"

"Always a grey warden'. Yes, believe it or not, as a circle mage, I know the 'you can never leave' drill like the back of my hand. Still… no more Templars, open air and the opportunity to roast some darkspawn; sounds too good to be true." Natalia wondered at the thought of being a grey warden. If she was honest, she would have been honoured to use her powers to protect people and actually do some good. The idea made an unfamiliar pride swell in her chest.

She sighed, hoping Kallian would see it the same way.

"It's not exactly my decision to make though. I mean, she gave up everything, risked her life to save mine. Right about now, I'm following her." She gestured to the still unconscious elf lying quietly in Natalia's arms.

As if awoken by the mention of her, Kallian began to stir. Natalia's heart seemed to release itself from the chokehold that concern had placed upon it as her lashes fluttered, finally reawakening to the world.

"Hey there, sleepy." She grinned. For a moment, she met the brunette's eyes, before her gaze travelled to her hair, her expression becoming confused.

"Am I still dreaming, or did you do something to your hair?" She whispered, her voice hoarse. Natalia blinked in a similar confusion to the elf's, a crease forming between her brow.

"My hair, what are you talking about?"

Without reply, Kallian pulled a lock of her friend's hair before her eyes, showing her the strange stripe of white that had appeared amongst the dark.

"What the-"

"If it's not too much trouble, I was hoping we could focus on the task at hand." Duncan cut in, obviously not prepared to enter into a conversation about hair with two women. He was quite sure that he was far too old for that sort of thing.

"What task? Who are you?" Kallian asked, a little life returning to her voice as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Natalia kept a hand on the elf's shoulder almost subconsciously, making sure the other girl wasn't going to tumble backwards.

"Kallian… this is Duncan. He was wondering if we would like to join his order." Natalia stated, hoping Kallian didn't pick up on the child-like excitement in her voice. She did; as did Duncan, who was both happy and sad to have someone with such enthusiasm on board. It was always a good thing to have people who wanted to make a difference, however the reality of war often had a way of dampening ones spirits. Watching a dream die was always a sad thing to see.

"Order?"

"Duncan is a Grey Warden. Not really as exciting as without the griffons are they?" Duncan chuckled a little at the young woman.

"No, not nearly as exciting." Despite her words, both the girls' eyes were alight with curiosity for life.

"Shame. I'd have loved a griffon."

Duncan could see they both held an enthusiasm for doing something with their lives after such a dire existence in the circle. He only hoped that they had the chance to experience real life.

"Well then – despite the disappointing lack of griffons – I hereby conscript you both into the Grey Wardens."  
>Silence descended upon the group as Natalia and Kallian exchanged a look, both marginally amused and somewhat surprised in combination, before the brunette turned to voice the thoughts obviously lingering in everyone's mind.<p>

"Brilliant. And might I say sir, your beard is spectacular."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

A collective sigh of relief seemed to wash over the five as they sighted the towering ruins of Ostagar in the distance, feeling ever more thankful as they neared it with every step. The ancient stone pillars and broken grey arches seemed to hang above their heads in a worn display of tragic majesty, both beautiful and decrepit in its appearance.

The eerie presence that perhaps should have presented itself within such a ruin was tempered by the abundance of life that rolled onwards in its wake, positively buzzing in its activity; knights and soldiers, blacksmiths and messengers alike, all went about their business beside their vast, fragmented surroundings.

The party surrounding Duncan gasped in awe at the soaring architecture as they passed beneath it, before coming to a halt before their greeter; a handsome young man with a cascade of long golden hair that matched his armour strolled towards them, a smile gracing his friendly features as the sun glinted brightly against steel.

"Ho there, Duncan." said the man, the grin never leaving his face as he reached out his hand to grasp Duncan's arm.

"King Cailan. I didn't expect-"

"A royal welcome. I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun."

Shock was the first reaction shared between all four of Duncan's followers, each surprised to see their monarch before them in such a casual manner. Shock however, was soon replaced by a mix of different emotions and thoughts that rumbled through each individual's brain separately.

Jory stood at attention, his chest swelling with pride and humility at such an honourable moment, while Daveth looked upon the man with the same bold smirk he held on most occasions.

A strange curiosity overwhelmed Kallian, pondering the thought that this was not truly her king. She was Dalish after all, with tattoos decorating her face as proof of her dedication to the Gods. Such tattoos however, had been acquired while within the circle – a circle which resided within this king's realm - given to her as a rite of passage from an older Dalish who had been captured while negotiating with a nearby town. The conflict left her contemplative as to what such a man represented to her personally.

Somewhat predictably, Natalia looked upon him as she looked upon most people at first glance, questioning whether they were attractive enough to bed. In that particular case, she looked upon the king with an appreciative leer, obviously deeming the man more than acceptably pleasing to the eye.

Oblivious to the goings on behind him, Duncan replied in a dry tone, a troubled expression seeming to flicker upon his countenance before disappearing behind his smile.

"Not if I could help it, your majesty."

"Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all. Glorious!" He postured, his head raised and his eyes closed as he took in the rays of light that seemed to wash upon him in promise of the victory that awaited him.

Natalia and Kallian once again shared an amused glance, brows raised and smiles barely concealed. They were unsure how much trouble mocking a king would get them in, though they hoped that they could blame growing up in the circle for giving in to the irresistible temptation of throwing their chins up and spreading out their arms discreetly; sunbathing as it were.

Much to their gratitude, no-one seemed to notice their mockery.

"The other warden's told me you would be bringing back recruits. I was unaware of just how many you would find however. Tell me Duncan, just where were all these promising individuals hiding?" Cailan grinned, his eyes finally falling upon the mismatching group.

"Daveth's the name. Just your friendly neighbourhood pickpocket here to fight the good fight and all. Maybe relieve some coin from the unsuspecting too eh?" Daveth chuckled, slinging his hand out toward the king, at which Jory balked in outrage.

"You can't just say that Daveth! That's the King!"

"Why not?" came the thief's reply, whose hand still hung limply in the space between himself and the monarch. Cailan soon grasped it firmly however, wearing his by now familiar grin that crinkled his eyes with sincerity.

"Nonsense. It's good to meet you Daveth. And you are?" He directed his question to Jory, who still stood as shocked as he had their entire meeting, both humbled and a little embarrassed that he had made a fool of himself before his King.

"My name is Jory, your majesty, Knight of Redcliffe. I won a tourney in Highever to be here." He bowed his head briefly, still so full of honour and tradition that he barely felt worthy to look one so noble in the face. The king simply smiled and moved down the line, looking toward the two young mages, both unable to resist mocking once again.

"Oh would you believe it! We just missed out on the mage's tourney at the circle, busy escaping and all. Of all the rotten luck eh?" Kallian spoke first with a straight face, hiding the undertone of sarcasm well with her seriousness tone.

"That's not even the worst part. We haven't even been out long enough to earn our pretty apostate feathers and suit up in our flashy outfits. I was really looking forward to that too." Natalia sighed with all the seriousness Kallian had possessed, wearing a dejected expression that matched her elven counterpart's.

Jory's expression fouled instantly, his eyes narrowing at the girls who looked back at him, barely restraining their smirks. Cailan however erupted into laughter.

"A comedy duo I see? Well, the wardens shall certainly have their hands full." He smiled kindly, before sighing reluctantly.

"Well, I suppose I better go and speak tactics with Loghain. You all must be eager to get to your tents. Duncan, have you any news before I go?" More talk between the two ensued, covering the coming battle and the troops waiting in Redcliffe, however Kallian's brain had seemed to switch off at the word 'tents'. From the familiar fatigued expression on Natalia's features, it was obvious the same feeling had washed over her too.

It wasn't long before Cailan stalked off, his guards in tow while Duncan began to lead them over the bridge further into camp. The landscape was magnificent, with rolling hills and mountains, accompanied by the vast reaches of the wilds in view. The sight would have been breath-taking, if not for the knowledge that somewhere deep within the thick expanse of trees below, the darkspawn hoard lurked, ready for battle.

"So, Cailan mentioned tents?" Natalia broke the silence, her sleepy impatience getting the better of her when her eyes began to close of their own volition, each time making it harder to re-open them.

"Well, I had hoped to…" Duncan trailed off, looking over each of the recruits' worn faces and sighed.

"Very well. You may get some rest. I'll have a messenger escort you to your tents. Do not forget, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. Wake early and seek me out." He raised his voice increasingly the further they got away from him, hoping that their tired brains would take in the message. He began to doubt it however when he saw Natalia fall through the opening of her tent. He sighed, realising that she was not even going to pick herself up, but rather sleep where she had fallen in the comfort of her robes.

It had been a long day for them all he admitted, and smiled as he wished them a good night's rest… for he knew when morning came, the next time they woke may very well be their last.


	5. The Crow

**Sorry for the wait. I've been very distracted with my first year of college and to be honest, just thinking of all the work I'm supposed to be doing makes me want to die. So instead of using my Christmas holiday period to do said work, I decided to continue this story instead. (Also, I started using a new layout of sorts because I realised it was a little hard to read previously. Sorry about that). **

**This one's a pretty dialogue-packed chapter. More to give readers a chance to get to know the characters better and move on the story a bit at the same time.**

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><p>Chapter Five: The Crow<p>

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><p>Natalia woke with a start. Despite her relatively deep slumber, the beginnings of a feather soft pressure resting gently against her face could be felt even in the fade; the effect was only worsened when it began to obstruct her breathing, quickly forcing her into a panic.<p>

Shooting forward into a sitting position, she stared confusedly at the offending material as it tumbled from her face and into her lap. In such a sleepy state, her brain seemed only able to stare accusingly at the unknown article, lacking the proper initiative to register exactly what it was she was staring at, nor was she particularly prepared to move. It was only when something much harder struck her on the forehead that she properly assessed the situation, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

She was sitting in the doorway of her tent, her legs sticking out onto the cold gravel - rather uncomfortably she might add - with the other half of her body resting on the floor of her tent.

"Come on sleepy, get changed." The familiar voice of her elven accomplice attracted her attention from beside her. Kallian stared down with an amused smile, clearly having taken joy in Natalia's drowsy bewilderment. Strangely, she had found even more joy from the initial act of throwing things at her friend, much to the brunette's chagrin.

Natalia mumbled something incoherently, closing her eyes tightly against the sun.

"What am I doing halfway out of my tent and in my robes?" she asked slowly, her voice cracking slightly.

"It's where you fell asleep idiot." Kallian chuckled at her hopeless companion with a roll of the eyes before throwing another piece of clothing to the pile with a grin.

Though she wasn't usually a morning person, there was something beautiful about waking up to the fresh air after so long that made her heart sing. The light breeze was heaven on her skin and the faint scent of the forest felt like home. It was a long time since she had been whisked away from her clan and had her life turned upside down, but she could still remember the feel of life among the trees.

Natalia took this time to observe her friend's grinning countenance, soon focusing on her attire with a raised brow. Rather than her usual mage's robes so kindly provided for them by the circle, the elf was dressed in a form fitting brown leather corset and matching skirt. A dark leather choker decorated her slender neck, while more brown leather could be found in the long gauntlets she wore, as well as some rather intricately patterned knee high boots.

"What's with the outfit?" She inquired, an impressed expression on her face. Kallian seemed to look over herself at the remark, remembering her change in appearance.

"Oh, I've been doing a bit of shopping with the money we…'confiscated' from those Templars a while back. I got you something too." She said, pointing to the heap of material still resting on her legs. Natalia was quickly reminded of how she had woken up that morning.

"And you decided to throw it at me?" A disgruntled expression crossed her features as she examined the clothing carefully, rubbing at her still faintly stinging head every now and again for good measure.

The offending article seemed to be a metal spaulder, adorned by a dark shoulder cape.

"This is mine?" The brunette asked, to which Kallian simply nodded in response, watching as Natalia perused the various other pieces before her. She picked up another leather corset from the pile, though her own was black and cut off half way down the abdomen.

"Not really a tactical or armour based decision this piece, is it?"

"Sure it is. You can distract the enemy with your impressive cleavage and exposed midriff." The elf replied with an innocent smirk.

"Is that all I am to you, an object of lust?" The elf simply rolled her eyes at the mock resent her friend displayed.

"Would you just get dressed?" she said, unable to keep a small smile from her face as she began to walk away.

"Wait!" The urgency in her friend's voice forced the elf turn immediately, regarding the human.

"Do you really think my cleavage is impressive?" The brunette waggled her brows suggestively, with a devilish grin that was by now all too familiar. If one thing could be said about their relationship, it was that the elf was well aware of how much her companion enjoyed torturing her in every way possible.

Another sigh could be heard before Kallian emerged from the tent and headed off across the gravel aimlessly, wondering what she had ever done to the creators in order to receive such a hindrance in the guise of a friend. Shrugging the thought from her head, she simply basked in the cool breeze that had been absent from her life for far too long as small stones crunched underfoot.

She was quickly brought from her reverie by a stranger's calls by the dog kennels. She listened nervously as the man pointed to the rather large and intimidating mabari sitting behind the fence, and asked whether she would be kind enough to risk her life for its health. '_Sure, why would I have a problem with that?' _she thought idly – sarcastic even in her own head - as she opened the gate.

Stepping inside and pushing the wooden door shut behind her, the mage turned cautiously toward the hulking creature as it sat, regarding her with intelligent eyes. It hurt her to see that such bright eyes also held in them a great deal of pain. Suddenly forgetting her fears, Kallian leant down carefully, stroking its soft brown fur before deftly and gently placing the muzzle over its snout.

"There, there." She reassured the animal, hoping to soothe its sorrow at least a small amount before reluctantly stepping back out of the pen.

It wasn't long before Natalia caught up with her once again, sporting her new attire well… and she certainly knew it.

"This is so much cooler than our mage robes. Seriously… I have a cape!" The excited brunette motioned at the strip of material that hung from the silver pauldron on her left shoulder, attaching to a diamond brooch at the side of her half-corset.

While it was eye-catching, falling over her left side in a waterfall of colour that ended at her waist, it did nothing to detract from the notable cleavage her corset presented and the smooth abdomen on show. A silver belt hung at her waist, tight around two squares of material at her front and back, ultimately making up her bottom half when finished off with a pair of knee high boots similar to Kallian's. Not an armour based choice she admitted, however it wasn't as if her robes had provided all that much more protection.

"Like what you see?" The human smirked.

"Oh yes. I want you. Take me now, I'm yours." The elf replied in monotone, sarcasm dripping off every word. Her brows hung heavy over her eyes in long suffering annoyance, to which the brunette had the audacity to respond to with a giggle.

"Knew it." grinned the incorrigible mage, before swaggering off ahead with the usual sway to her hips. As she watched frustrated, Kallian considered how much trouble she'd get into for choking a Grey Warden recruit, grumbling to herself before following after the object of her ire.

"I hope your ineffective harlot armour gets you killed." The elf groused quietly.

"Hey you picked it! And you know that when it _does_ get me killed, you'll only feel terribly guilty for pandering to my impractical attire preferences. By then it will be too late of course, and you'll only have yourself to blame."

Kallian could almost feel the fire building in her palm. Surely no-one would miss one annoying, little mage…

Catching up with the woman, she caught a glimpse of the end of an argument unravelling before them. A handsome blonde man in chainmail turned to them as an ill-tempered mage stalked off in annoyance, blustering past them quickly and grumbling to himself as he went.

"You know, one good thing about the blight is how it brings people together." the blonde man remarked dryly, his eyes twinkling with mirth. The two women exchanged glances of amusement.

"Tell me about it. You know things are happy and warm in the world when Darkspawn are-a-gathering and the Templars try to kill you. We should all sit in a circle holding hands by the campfire." Kallian remarked, and the man's expression instantly soured.

"More mages? Please don't turn me into a frog; I rather enjoy the use of opposable thumbs. That and I couldn't possibly style my hair properly anymore."

"Don't worry, we only do the frog zapping thing on Tuesdays." Natalia's dry interjection earned a small smile from the stranger, though it quickly faltered after a moment's thought.

"It is a Tuesday…"

"Oh. Well you should probably watch out then." The brunette deadpanned before Kallian pushed her in the arm with a chuckle and a roll of the eyes. She wanted to tell him to simply _'ignore the moron', _however she knew from all too many years of experience that in Natalia's case it was relatively impossible. If there was one thing Natalia was good at it was getting people's attention, either willingly or otherwise.

"Well remind me to stay on your good sides. I'm Alistair by the way, and you must be two of the new recruits Duncan told me about. I seem to remember him mentioning something about having new blood from the circle."

"I'm Kallian - the intelligent one - and this idiot is Natalia, my unbearably annoying and flirtatious best friend. Watch her, she bites." As if to punctuate the elf's point, Natalia ran her tongue over her teeth with a wink. Alistair seemed caught between a blush and bewilderment, but quickly shrugged it off with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, that's- nice. Anyway, it's good to meet you both. I suppose we should go and find Duncan. As the junior member of the order I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the joining. He's probably… this way." He motioned for them to follow as he started off towards the camp with an awkward smile on his face. Leading it seemed, was altogether new for him and most certainly something he wasn't exactly comfortable with.

As if to make the situation easier for him, by the glint in Natalia's eye, she looked about ready to inject even more devious comments and flirtation. Kallian raised her hand before her friend even had chance to open her mouth.

"I swear, if you make one smart remark about the word 'joining' I will seriously consider disowning you for good this time." She whispered dryly without even a sideward glance. She didn't need to look at her friend to know she would already have initiated a playful pout and fluttering lashes that she would have overlooked anyway. After a moment, the elf was rewarded with an annoyed huff from the brunette at being ignored.

She smiled victoriously. She found it relatively amusing that as best friends, their entire relationship was built around small battles such as those, fought to find the best way to irritate the other. Nevertheless, it was a dynamic that had worked for them well over the many years they had known each other.

Rather quickly they found themselves before Duncan once again, who regarded them with a courteous nod of the head. Beside him stood Daveth and a rather disgruntled looking Jory, who - unlike the warden and the cutpurse - greeted them with a grunt of dissatisfaction. It seemed he hadn't quite forgiven the mages for their previous mocking; it was a fact that only made them giggle quietly between themselves.

"Well, I hope you all enjoyed your rest… even those of you who chose to spend it sprawled across the doorway of your tents." Duncan looked pointedly at Natalia, who remarkably looked a little sheepish at the comment.

"Regardless, since you found Alistair I will assume you are ready to begin preparations. You will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks; the first is to obtain four vials of Darkspawn blood. One for each recruit."

The group stared at him blankly.

"You want us to… collect blood?" Kallian questioned, mouth twisted in distaste. Duncan simply nodded his head in confirmation.

"Lovely. What's the second task? Mount their heads on spears and bring them back for you?" Natalia interjected with a smirk. Kallian mock groaned.

"But the Templars confiscated all our good spears remember? They never quite trusted us again after the battle re-enactment debacle with the-"

"Enough. I swear you two are worse than Alistair." Duncan pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh.

"Hey!" Alistair pitched in indignantly. Duncan simply ignored him and carried on.

"The second task involves an old Grey Warden archive, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"Right. Blood and scrolls. No spears. Got it! Be back soon." Natalia announced with a firm nod of the head, before turning on her heel and heading off towards the gate, the others slowly peeling off and following after her.

Duncan shook his head, knowing the Wardens most certainly had their hands full indeed.

IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The crow watched the group curiously, looking down on them from the lower branches that stretched out above their heads. The five had traipsed through the marsh-like lands of the wilds completely unaware of their feathered spectator for some time, despite the watchful golden eyes that followed them from tree to tree.

The crow cocked its head, mulling over thoughts much too complicated for any crow to possess. No, the thoughts in the crows head were very much human, tainted with an immense inquisitiveness far surpassing that of idle interest. There was nothing casual about the way this mysterious bird stalked that particular crowd.

All the while, the objects of the creature's interest wandered on obliviously. It created the perfect opportunity to observe each individual with alarming depth.

From the words that had been exchanged up to that point, it appeared that the tall blonde man was supposed to be the leader of the group. It was a fact that would not have been guessed from their interactions however, as despite his combat efficiency, he seemed considerably far more apt at following. Still, he was not nearly as bad as the two men that ambled after him, neither quite possessing the skills or personality characteristics to stand out in any way shape or form. From the stance they took in conversations, to the way they moved, it was obvious that both were relatively unremarkable and ordinary.

The two who actually led the group however, both literally and in dynamic were something else entirely. Both undeniably more adept than their travelling companions, both taking integral parts in discussion, and both rather surprisingly being women. It only served to make the pair more interesting.

One in particular, held the crow's interest above all. While in skill, she seemed matched by her counterpart, the way she acted intrigued the crow immensely.

She held a lithe frame, constantly moving and shifting balance, or twirling the sienna locks that swayed past her shoulders with a nonchalant expression on her face. It was her seemingly cavalier attitude that first drew the bird's attention.

Such an attitude made no sense when combined with many of the things the crow had seen.

While she often casually drifted out in front to lead the group - practically skipping forward with indifference - she seemed to allow the second woman – an elf – to take the lead in conversation with others, more than happy to just interject with an inane and frivolous comment whenever necessary. Such infantile behaviour seemed natural to her, yet there was often something beneath the surface, the very thing that the crow had yet to figure out.

The woman, while seemingly relaxed and indifferent, had cerulean eyes that shifted constantly, flitting about the environment and between her comrades, taking in every little detail as it were.

The crow was sure that this impressive attention to detail was the reason she drifted off ahead of the group, knowing they would sigh and follow to protect their reckless companion while unaware that she was in fact leading them without word in order to avoid the ambush she had seen lying in wait. The bird's suspicion was confirmed when at one point she doubled back around to meet a group of Darkspawn head on that had been tailing the group after their trap had failed.

It was a confounding dynamic to watch. The elf - who was no doubt a very clever and level headed individual in comparison to the superficial immaturity of the brunette - was given every responsibility of outwardly leading, while the human woman avoided duty through a rather intelligent display of unintelligence. After all, those who are not being watched often have the space to see everything else more clearly. The crow itself was a fine example of the fact.

It was impossible to tell whether the woman was an unfathomable genius, or a blundering idiot with a penchant for lunacy. Most times, it seemed like a combination of both. The crow was still unsure.

As if to answer the question, the brunette's gaze just happened to flit into the trees above her head, and for the briefest moment her cerulean blues met the unique gold irises of the crow. Her brow furrowed slightly in consideration, as if digesting some new information before she moved on.

Yes, the crow was certainly intrigued. And as the crow took flight, soaring high above the group as they neared their goal, it knew the time had come to truly face the object of its strange new interest.


	6. Silent Tongues

**I swear I haven't forgotten about this fic, it's just that my creative inspiration has been more directed towards my mass effect fic of late. I promise I will continue to update however, it will just be a slow process so bear with me (haha that always makes me think of two people acting likes bears together :'D I'm so lame).**

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><p>Chapter Six: Silent Tongues<p>

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><p>"That crow…" Natalia started quietly, for the pointed ears of her elven companion alone. Green eyes looked back at her curiously.<p>

"It's the same one?"

"Yes. It's been following us." She confirmed. The elf nodded, keeping their conversation to the bare minimum, away from the prying eyes and ears of the men traipsing behind. Each had the intelligence to note the conspiratorial nature of the two best friends' whisperings, but none had the courage to question it. Instead, they followed behind like new born pups, mimicking every step the two women took.

For someone who was supposed to be the senior and leading member of the group, Alistair was doing just as fantastic a display of following as the two male wardens-to-be beside him.

"So why is it we're in front anyway? We're mages. That usually implies ranged combat, you know… from the back of the group." Natalia broached with an amused smile.

Alistair simply smiled charmingly. "Well you two seemed so comfortable up there, gossiping away to each other, we thought it would be rude to interrupt the fine job you're doing."

"And the view from back here is better too." Daveth grinned mischievously, eyes unabashedly lingering at an area slightly lower than the back on both women.

As per their usual arrangement, Kallian laughed slightly and rolled her eyes, while Natalia smirked and blew a kiss at the man, winking gleefully. The elf couldn't believe that of all the people they'd ended up in a group with, they'd managed to find a flirt just as untameable and unashamed as the brunette. One was bad enough, two put together was torture.

"So speaking of gossiping, what are we talking about anyway?"

"That was subtle." Kallian smirked at their supervisor.

"I do try. But what can I say, the curiosity is killing me." The blonde edged closer in anticipation as the two women exchanged amused glances.

"There was a bird following us."

"A bird? A bird was following us? The small, feathery, flying creatures, all cute and innocent in the sky? That was cause for all the hush, hush going on up here. That's disappointing, I was at least expecting some juicy scandal." Their 'leader' looked genuinely disappointed.

This was remedied however with Natalia's interjection.

"Well, it was just the bird thing. Oh, and Kallian is secretly a man. Ow!"

Natalia rubbed the sore spot on her arm where the red-headed elf had punched her with a pained expression.

"As you can see, she's rather touchy about it."

This time, Natalia saw the fist coming and laughed as she dodged out of the way.

"Ooh, that's more like it. But don't you mean _he's_ rather touchy about it." Daveth, obviously did not help the situation, but unlike Natalia, all he got was a sour look from the elf, who quickly started moving off with a shake of the head, muttering to herself about being surrounded by idiots.

Thankfully, it was only seconds later that another wave of Darkspawn reared their hideous heads upon the hill they had reached, announcing their presence with a roar. Kallian silently thanked her Gods for having something to focus on destroying that wasn't her best friend – as much as she loathed to admit it when she annoyed her so much, she was actually rather fond of the twit and would prefer not to have to fry her into oblivion – getting to work calling down a fiery hell upon their enemy.

"We should get her angry more often!" Alistair cried over the phenomenal crashing of flames colliding with the earth and flesh and plate. The two other men nodded dumbfounded, pausing for a moment to enjoy the show.

"She knows how to aim those things right?" Jory asked, casting a worried glance at the dark haired woman beside him. She simply shot a shrug back, before laughing merrily and only slightly crazily at his horrified expression.

"Best work on your foot speed tourney man, try not to get yourself fried!" She shouted back to him as she dashed off into the fray, using the blade on her staff to slice through neck and face of the various attackers that dared reach after her, dodging left and right between enemies and falling bolts of fire, before spinning on her heel and sending an arc of lightening into a mass of Darkspawn. Blinding light zigzagged from one enemy to another, until all were twitching and gasping in pain, falling to their knees in searing agony as their skin boiled and eyes melted, before finally dropping motionless to the earth.

Their faithful followers in steel and iron cut a bloody swatch through the remaining foes, the sounds of swords ringing against metal and bone slowly dying down at the same time the lightening fizzled out and the flames dissolved from the sky.

Kallian huffed from the exertion, too tired to be more annoyed when Natalia slaps a none too gentle hand on her back with a grin.

"Feel better now?"

"Just dandy." She managed a weak smile back at her friend, with all forgiven.

"Good, because there's our warden chest over there." The brunette pointed towards the archway at the crest of the embankment, a broken, dilapidated tower framing its background. "And I think I saw the crow fly this way."

The group made their way under the arch, Kallian leading them towards the battered chest. Natalia stayed back a few steps, surveying their surroundings with watchful cerulean blues. She saw no crow.

She was unsure whether that was a good sign or a bad one.

"It's empty."

The brunette looked back at the elf, who was crouched by the chest, hovering nimbly over its non-existent contents. _Wonderful._ She thought. _Now what?_

Her answer came in the dry and seductive tones that drifted to her ears from behind and sent shivers down her spine.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

Five figures turned suddenly, to face a dark haired wilds-woman, dressed none too conservatively. Great glimpses of smooth, pale skin could be seen quite clearly through the rags the woman wore. When blue eyes travelled to the flawless face of their intruder, they instantly brightened. Her attention was broken slightly however when a harsh whisper of "Don't. You. Dare" sounded right by her ear. Kallian stood beside her with a severe warning look that made her almost desperate to do exactly the opposite of what she was telling her to do.

Natalia just mouthed 'what?' innocently, making the elf growl imperceptibly in futility. She should have learned by now that if Natalia saw something she liked, she would make it known. Loudly.

"Are you a vulture I wonder?" The mysterious wilder continued, edging closer to the group with ever purposeful and sultry step. "A scavenger, poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these Darkspawn filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?"

She came to a stop before Natalia, staring her down for a tense moment with curiosity in her golden irises before shifting her gaze to the elf, expectant of an answer.

"What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"

"Intruder? And just how are these your Wilds?" The elf shot back with defiance glistening in the green of her eyes. The woman was not moved however.

"Because I know them as only one who owns them could? Can you claim the same?"

Natalia smirked, forcing the dark woman's gaze to meet her own.

"Sure; a tree here, a swamp there. Then you just rinse and repeat for a couple hundred miles and you've just about got it covered. Anyway, knowing the area well doesn't prove you own it, it just means you're a more accomplished intruder than we are."

The woman narrowed her curious golden eyes at the brunette, with the smallest of smiles on her lips.

"How quaint; an imbecilic outsider who speaks of what she does not know. Truly, 'tis so very difficult to find those anymore. And just when I was thinking they were in short supply too, you are a wonder." The woman retorted dryly, eyes flitting over the staff poised stoutly on Natalia's back. "Perhaps such small mindedness should not be too surprising from a Circle Mage. I assume correctly, do I not? Your faces simply scream 'mindless sheep' so loudly that I could only presume you to be a willing prisoner of that particular institution?"

The raven haired temptress' calculating smile faltered when rather than becoming offended, Natalia's grin only widened. Another peculiar piece to a seemingly unfathomable puzzle.

"Ooh, now who's being small minded?" Her azure eyes sparkled in teasing that added fuel to her blatantly patronising tone. "Maker, I just love the scent of hypocrisy. Don't you?"

"As you can see, we're not exactly Circle Mages any longer. A minor disaster involving blood magic and a boat saw to that." Kallian interjected, smirking slightly after catching Natalia shudder at the mention of the boat from the corner of her eye.

That really had been a disaster, with the brunette hunched firmly in the middle of the boat that Cullen had prepared for them, rocking back and forth with her eyes closed, praying fervently for the Maker to forgive all her sins and be kind enough to not let her drown in some murky lake water where no-one would ever find her body.

Suffice to say, it was an understatement to claim that the woman had a fear of water.

"Ah yes. Rogue mages. 'Tis so very daring of you escape the confines you have happily lived within to your adulthood. I commend your astounding bravery." The sarcasm dripped from her words like poison.

Kallian was beginning to see a theme. "I get the feeling you're very hard to please."

The wilder ignored the comment. "I have watched your progress for some time-"

"I'll bet you have. That's a neat trick you have there, by the way. Tell me, what's it like to be able to fly? I've always wondered." Natalia smirked self-assuredly, watching as the woman's reaction played out on her face. Surprise at first, followed by an impressed curiosity that burned in the golden eyes that had given her away.

"Well, well, you do have a keen eye, to be sure. Alas, it does you no good. 'Twould be impossible to describe and so, I will not enlighten you. It seems you shall have to wonder for a while longer."

"Hold a moment." Alistair stepped forward. "Are you trying to tell me that she can fly? Because that's worrying… That's really… worrying. Am I the only one who finds that worrying?" He mumbled.

"And the fool has finally caught up it seems." The stranger ridiculed. "Perhaps now you can explain why it is you are here. You disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her. She looks Chasind and that means others may be nearby." Alistair eyed the woman cautiously, who grinned mockingly.

"Ooh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?"

"Yes. Swooping is bad." The blonde man assured wryly, to which Natalia nodded seriously.

"Unless you're the one doing the sweeping." She added. "In which case I imagine it would be rather fun." The wistfulness of her tone made it clear she had yet to move her mind from the thought of flying.

Throughout the entire exchange, Daveth had looked on uneasily. The woman, standing there looking down at them had a threatening aura that made him cringe, too worried to even make a distasteful remark about her revealing attire. Usually that meant things were really going to hell.

"She's a Witch of the Wilds she is. She'll turn us into toads!" He gasped.

Kallian rolled her eyes, wanting to make a comment about the Shemlen and their silly stories.

"Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies those legends. Have you no minds of your own? You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your names, and I shall tell you mine." Her gaze fell upon the two mages.

"I'm Kallian and this is Natalia."

"And does Natalia lack the proper mental faculties to speak for herself?"

"Oh she has the faculties. Somewhere. She just doesn't tend to use them for anything relevant." The elf said straight faced, to which the brunette beside her only grinned docilely.

The raven haired witch marvelled at their game, a queer double act they had seemingly mastered over what must have been years. Each knew their part to play perfectly. The elf was the leader - a strong and composed Queen - and the human her jester, who hid knives behind smiles and brains beneath the tinkling of her hat.

Fortunately, it just so happened that that particular 'Witch of the Wilds' simply loved to play games. "Then you may call me Morrigan, if you wish. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest… something that is here no longer."

"Here no longer. You stole them didn't you? You're some kind of… sneaky… witch thief!" Alistair accused, cursing himself for stumbling over his words like an uneducated farm hand.

"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily it seems." He grumbled quietly. "Those documents are Grey Warden property and I suggest you return them."

Morrigan seemed amused. "I will not. For 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish. I am not threatened."

"You really should have shook your fist Alistair. For dramatic effect." Natalia added unhelpfully, receiving a long suffering look from her elven companion, who redirected the conversation onto the right track. "So who did take them?"

"'Twas my mother, in fact."

"Finally - we're getting somewhere. Could you just take us to her? I'm tired of standing around out here like a bunch of idiots." Kallian directed the last word towards her friend subtly, who stuck her tongue out playfully at the redhead.

"Hm, there is a sensible request. I like you." Morrigan smiled – a rare occurrence, the elf was sure.

"I'd be careful. First it's 'I like you' but then Zap! Frog time."

Kallian and Natalia exchanged an amused look at Alistair's assessing of the situation. Less so however at Daveth's continued worrying that followed, afraid to be 'put in the pot'', or so he had rambled. Jory however helpfully pointed out that said pot may well be warmer than just standing around in the forest, and Kallian felt vindicated for her earlier statement about hanging around like idiots. At least she wasn't the only one who thought they had been at this stalemate for too long.

"Follow me then, if it pleases you." The witch turned on her heel, strolling out of sight below the brow of the hill.

"Oh it pleases me." Natalia whispered to her friend suggestively with a waggle of the brows as they followed, to which she only received a swift thump to the ribs from the elf's elbow, promptly shutting her up.

Upon the two female recruits disappearing after the raven haired wilder, the men looked at each other uneasily, before finally following. No matter how confident the girls seemed about following this stranger even deeper into the Wilds, it did nothing to relax the unsettling feeling in their stomachs.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI X

It was safe to say that Morrigan's mother hadn't exactly been what any one of the group had been expecting, the little shack in the middle of the forest hardly the tall and dark fortress of evil Alistair had been dreading, nor the picture of demonic abode that Daveth had rambled about quietly the entire journey either.

A harmless old woman, or so she seemed, mumbling to herself as often as Alistair did when he was thinking about cheese wasn't really the picture any of them had imagined.

"Believe what you will." The woman stated firmly, ending a rather confusing rant about something none of the group were all too sure on. Daveth had made it clearly known what it was he believed, and that was that it would be best to leave as soon as possible. The others simply stared as she talked in riddles, until she turned to Natalia with a serious expression. "And what of you? Do you possess a different viewpoint, or do you believe as the other's do?"

The brunette looked shocked, more than used to having Kallian cover for her when leading a conversation. It was her job to just inject pointless sarcasm whenever the moment was least appropriate, not answer serious questions. "Uhm, I don't really believe anything. I'm just here with the redhead. Don't mind me."

The old woman eyed her amusedly. "Ah but you do believe. It's in your eyes girl. You believe because you've seen it, and know it as well as I."

"Honestly, I don't even know what this 'it' is that we're talking about." She looked at the others for help, but all she got was a shrug from Alistair and barely held in laughter from the elf.

The woman cackled. "Ignorance is clever child, when you have secrets to keep. And you have so many swirling in your blood, it must be ever so hard to keep a hold of them. Be careful to grasp them tight, else one may slip." There was a knowing look in her eye as she evaluated the younger woman, and Natalia didn't like it one bit.

Kallian watched suspiciously as Natalia's demeanour switched in an instant, the mention of secrets ripping the oblivious pretence from her face, replacing it with a grave expression that didn't suit her features at all.

"What's she talking about?"

The redhead's voice snapped the brunette's gaze from the crone, the usual indifference in her eyes returning.

"Potatoes."

Almost every brow scrunched in confusion.

"What? Everyone's totally fine with _her_ talking nonsense, but I do it and suddenly I'm a lunatic?" She grumbled, annoyed. "Look, we just want the documents from the chest, then we can get on our way and you can go back to doing… whatever it is you do out here; dancing naked under the moon and boiling children. I don't care. In fact you can even have Daveth to boil if it'll shut him up, just hand the papers over."

Daveth gasped, horrified, while everyone else just looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Of course." The woman nodded, surprisingly calmly and turned toward the hut, bending down to gather something from a stool. "And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these."

"You… oh. You protected them?" Alistair deflated from the righteous indignation he had been prepared to present her with.

"And why not? Give this to your Grey Wardens and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realise."

Natalia snatched the documents from her hands. "I'm sure they'll just be itching to jump at your advice." She said scathingly, before heading off in the direction of the camp.

Kallian watched worriedly. It was a side of her friend she had never seen before. Natalia didn't get angry. She didn't get spiteful or mean. She was just her silly best friend, who made jokes and waggled her brows and admittedly slept with more people than was likely healthy. But she didn't get mad.

Something the woman had said had made that change, and Kallian didn't like it at all. She didn't like what it might mean. She'd always thought that Natalia would never hide something from her. It had never even occurred to her that there might be secrets between them. Not until that very moment, and it scared the elf more than any 'Witch of the Wilds' ever would.

Turning back to Morrigan's mother, she nodded her head respectfully. "Thank-you."

"Such manners. Always in the last place you look. Like stockings. Oh do not mind me; you should follow your friend before she gets herself lost. Morrigan, these are your guests…" She began, forcing a sigh from her daughter, who couldn't have looked less enthused had she tried.

"Oh. Very well, I will show you out of the woods. Follow me." She may not have been able to sound less enthused either.

But follow they did, until Morrigan had caught up to Natalia, who had slowed somewhat noticeably since storming off. The witch glanced at her haughtily, a small smirk on her features. "Calmed from our little tantrum have we?"

"What can I say? Holding a grudge is too much effort, and I've never been one for putting more effort into something than necessary. Unless that something is sex. Or annoying someone. Funnily enough, my two favourite things. Oh, and food… but that would be three." She grinned charmingly, having regained her composed and idiotic façade.

"You are a rather accomplished fool it seems."

"Well I'm glad you noticed. It's incredibly hard work." Her cerulean blue's sparkled with humour, but Morrigan simply nodded to herself. _Hard work indeed, s_he granted, intrigued by the fool who worked harder at it than most.

The worst part was, she couldn't quite decide whether that made her more the fool, or an admirable deceiver. Either way, from what she knew of her mother's plans, it was likely they would meet again. Perhaps then, she reasoned, she could decide for herself.


	7. The Battle

Chapter 7: The Battle

* * *

><p>Natalia was silent for almost the entire trip back towards the encampment, smiling only once or twice for Kallian's benefit. The elf had been staring her best friend down since Morrigan had escorted them back to a recognizable area of the Wilds and parted ways with the group, trying to determine what it was going on inside the human's head.<p>

Whatever it was, it didn't seem that she was all that intent on sharing.

"So are you going to let me in on what that was back there?" The elf broached, drawing her friend even further ahead of the others that traipsed behind them.

"Which '_that_' are we talking about? You know how slow I am Kal. You'll have to make it simpler for me." The brunette grinned, but it was as fake as the cheerful tone that carried her words. Kallian wondered when the deceit had started, just when this woman she thought she'd known so well found it so easy to lie right to her face. Had her smiles always been so false?

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't be evasive. It's annoying."

"And annoying is what I'm best at." The brunette shot another grin at her elven friend that didn't reach her eyes, eyes that looked like wave after wave of emotion was crashing against the solid brick wall she'd built up and decorated with a smile, all while Kallian watched the storm rage.

"Well you've got that right."

Natalia didn't bother to reply and instead turned back to stare off into the Wilds with an unreadable expression on her face. Kallian scoffed.

"You know this is just like that time you got in trouble with Irving after spending an hour with the tranquil and you wouldn't tell me what happened."

"Oh, yeah," she replied with a far-away look. "That _was_ fun."

Kallian sighed, her shoulders feeling intensely heavy with the weight of worry. "You're impossible," she muttered, barely hearing Alistair's awkward interruption from behind them.

"Uhm, hate to cut in and everything but there's-"

"Not right now Alistair," the elf chastised, not looking away from Natalia for even for a second. The whole situation was only made more annoying by the fact that her friend absolutely refused to meet her eyes.

"No really-"

Kallian swung around, arms flung out in annoyance. "I said not now!" It was only as she looked past him and towards the thumb he was pointing to the group's rear that she noticed the party of lumbering horrors heading towards them in bulk.

"Darkspawn." The Grey Warden explained dryly, making Kallian cringe at her harshness.

"Well why didn't you say so?" It was a flippant remark, but the silent apology in her eyes was enough to appease the warrior, who just smiled understandingly before turning to face the oncoming threat.

The whole time she was fighting, slinging spell after spell into the crowd of enemies that had quickly engulfed their group, she was cursing her foolish friend, who had gone wading into the thick of battle, using her staff more than she did her magic. It was almost as if she wished to be even more frustrating than she already was, even more distracting. As if Kallian didn't already have enough on her mind without having to worry that Natalia was going to get herself killed.

Even worse, she was already worrying about the armour she'd gotten her friend. Close combat hadn't exactly been what she'd had in mind when buying it, thinking simply that the brunette would appreciate the aesthetics over her robes as she fought at range. _Like any sane mage!_

It was like she'd almost forgotten. Natalia was anything but sane.

Swinging her staff in the direction of an oncoming Hurlock, she watched as it was engulfed by fire, all the while making a mental note to get some light chainmail added to Natalia's amour, at least around her abdomen, which seemed all too exposed to a well-placed blade.

The final Darkspawn fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud, and the party relaxed into a relieved silence, only broken at the muted wince that escaped Natalia's lips. A small gash had opened up above her right hip and she was poking at it carelessly with a grimace on her face.

'_Well that's what you get when you go wading into battle like some warrior',_ Kallian wanted to say, but realised it wasn't worth the effort. If her best friend didn't want to speak to her then she wouldn't, it was as simple as that.

The heavy silence that descended once again was maintained the short way back to the encampment, only broken by Alistair once they had returned to Duncan. It only seemed to hang heavier over them once they were left to await the joining ritual.

"Well…" Daveth began. "This is awkward…"

Staring, the rest of the group's silence only seemed to support his sentiment, until Jory heaved a sigh. "And stupid! We could all die horribly in some magic ritual soon and we're just sitting here."

"Well what else do you propose we do? Hold hands? Sing campfire songs?" Kallian retorted.

"It would be better than this! I just.. I have a bad feeling about all this. All this magic business makes me… uneasy."

"Gee, thanks."

He looked horrified. "No! No that's not what I – I only meant that, I've never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade."

They all seemed to sober at that, as Duncan approached from behind them.

"At last we come to the joining."

The whole time he was talking, Natalia just stared at the sky, picking at the dirt under her nails. Her whole blasé attitude was so frustrating that Kallian barely heard Alistair speak before them all, some old Grey Warden chant from what she'd picked up. She was doubly surprised when Natalia suddenly stood with a bored expression.

"Let's just get this over with shall we?" She took the joining goblet in her hands, not even pausing to stare down its gruesome contents before drinking deeply from it.

Everything seemed to stop, all of them waiting for the inevitable, despite not being quite sure what just what the inevitable was. Then she crumpled. A gasp of pain escaped her lips, before her head snapped up, eyes wide and white, before finally they closed.

Kallian darted forward as the brunette fell back noiselessly, catching her before she could hit her head on the ground. Panic engulfed her as she looked to Duncan for some kind of assurance that she would be okay. He simply smiled and nodded, before offering the goblet to Daveth.

Focusing on her friend, Kallian barely saw what happened next. Just as she was laying Natalia's head to rest gently against the ground, their fellow recruit was suddenly cringing beside them, grasping at his throat in agony. The elf jumped back, gasping in horror.

_That could have been her,_ she thought, _that could have been Natalia._

With a final shuddering choke, Daveth collapsed into the gravel with a mortifying finality, and just like that he was gone. For a few moments, there was silence. Jory looked just as aghast as Kallian, backing away in horror at the scene that had unfolded before them both.

He started muttering, confounded and fearful, Duncan closing in before him. Kallian could do nought but stare as they drew their weapons, and watch as Jory followed Daveth into death's embrace.

Kallian stared, unable to quite comprehend what she had seen; just watching as the blood seeped into the ground from Jory's wound; watching his glassy eyes gaze lifelessly to the sky; watching as Duncan approached her next, chalice raised in offering. It even felt like she was simply watching herself take it, with no control over her actions.

She took a last look at Natalia, lying prone and unconscious against the stone floor, before raising the chalice to her lips. The liquid in it was thick, viscous and all too much as it slid down her throat, her need to gag instantly making itself known. She swallowed the need, and it went down with the blood.

The last thing she remembered was the burning, like acid searing her insides, and looking into the void itself; the plague, the dragon, its innumerable army. Worse still; the void looked back.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

Natalia had been observing her friend as she had awoken - no doubt with the same headache that had been wracking her own head – and wondered when to break the silence. She had been scrutinising her as they met the King and Teyrn Loghain, planning the upcoming battle, still wondering the same thing. She'd even just watched as Duncan announced they would be separated for the upcoming battle, the guilt that had been swirling in her stomach since their meeting with the woods witch having lodged itself in her throat, tighter and tighter until words became impossible.

"One of the mages that was supposed to be performing a protection spell over the King has taken ill. It has been suggested that one of you stay behind to participate while the other goes with Alistair to light the beacon."

Natalia had been able to feel Kallian's eyes upon her as attempted to maintain a neutral face. _To the battle then_, she thought, but never got the chance to utter the words aloud.

"I'll do it. I'll stay behind."

It was Natalia who had stared then, watching the elf's set jaw and knowing no matter how much she begged there would be no reconsideration. Kallian spared the barest of glances at her, as if to say goodbye, before returning her eyes to the fire.

And that was all the goodbye they had said.

"She'll be fine. She was tough enough to survive the Joining, she'll be tough enough to survive the battle. You'll see." Alistair nodded at her, as if hoping to believe his own words, as clearly mollifying as they were meant to be. Natalia simply nodded back.

Staring out over the bridge, she watched as the fighting raged on below. She could hear the screams and clashing of metal even from there, in the distance. _People are dying down there. _The whisper clouded her mind. _Kallian could be dying down there._

She didn't have time to dwell on it, urging Alistair into a run when they were nearly knocked off their feet by incoming catapult fire.

_Kallian will be fine._ It was the mantra she repeated to herself as they came upon the Tower of Ishal, overrun by Darkspawn that most assuredly were not supposed to be there. _Kallian will be fine and we're both going to make it out of here._

She felt the burning in her skin, searing around the markings at her palms and coursing down her arms to run across the back of her neck and down her spine. It felt like something was clawing at her from the inside, a beast raring to be unleashed. Natalia's face however, remained neutral, the pain was nothing new.

Joined by two soldiers, she set their weapons aflame and paralysed as many of their foes as she was able, allowing them to be cut down by her allies one by one. As a force, they were brilliant, Alistair flanking their archers while Natalia immobilised the monsters with spells, all the while their two allies took the battle to the monsters directly.

They made quick work of carving through the rest of the Darkspawn on the grounds outside the Tower, pushing on through its great doors with speed. The thought that they would still not be quite fast enough hounded Natalia enough to want to keep up such a breakneck pace.

"There's a trap there," she said, putting her arm out to halt their run before anyone could blunder straight through the taut wire mechanism before them. They all stared at her expectantly as she stared right back at them, clueless.

"What? I noticed the trap; I didn't say I could disarm it."

The other soldier rolled his eyes as he knelt before the wire. "I know a little about traps." He whispered as he fiddled with the tie at its base. "Enough at least." The wire loosened, dropping to the floor. They waited for a moment, almost expecting an explosion to signify that they had gone drastically wrong.

Nothing happened.

With a relieved sigh, they picked up their pace once more, forced back into action by the multitude of attacking grotesques that populated the first floor.

Natalia shot a stone fist at an approaching Genlock, knocking it back hard, before swinging her staff round at whatever creature had grabbed at her from behind. The blade end sliced deep through its neck, thick fluid pouring from its opened throat. For a moment, Natalia felt sick, remembering the taste of it filling her mouth.

She shook herself, moving on with the others through the now cleared chamber.

It was only as they were climbing the staircase that Natalia really started to notice the pain. Where before the sharp stinging across her lyrium markings lay had subtly burned as they always did when spellcasting, it had soon grown into a tearing agony. She could almost hear the lyrium calling to her, to be used, begging to be released.

She coughed to hide the grimace that escaped her as she reached the last step, her body sagging in defeat at the sight of the bodies strewn across the ground. Each floor seemed the same. By the time they were climbing the third set of stairs, Natalia could focus on naught else but the searing of her skin; her body was on fire, she was certain of it.

"Are you okay?"

She felt a hand touch lightly against her arm, but it was enough to send fresh waves of agony through the limb. She could feel the concern in his gaze at her gasp and removed his hand instantly.

"I'm fine. Let's just keep moving."

"Really? Because it looks like you're about to fall back down the stairs we just came up."

She simply grunted in response, narrowing her eyes at the blond. "Just. Keep. Moving."

Alistair looked dubious. "Okay, but if I have to run back and catch you I'm allowed to say I told you so."

Rolling her eyes, Natalia wondered if the mixture of irritation and amusement was how Kallian felt around her and the thought brought a smile to her face. _Kallian will be fine and we're both going to make it out of here._ With that thought in mind, she pressed forward, sighing with relief when she finally climbed the last step.

Before the feeling had chance to properly take root, Alistair swung open the heavy wooden door that barred their way to the beacon, and quite suddenly her relief was replaced with defeat. A deafening roar shook the room.

Alistair shook his head, drawing his sword once more. "And here I thought this task was going to be difficult."

The lumbering ogre in the centre of the room turned to face them, throwing the broken body in its grasp against the wall. Blood painted the stone in a haphazard fashion, deep red stark against the mournful grey.

"You worry too much, Alistair."

The words had barely left Natalia's lips before the ogre began its charge, each of them diving from its path before spring into action.

Lightening arced from Natalia's staff, striking the monster in the back as it swung a gargantuan fist at one of the soldiers. She struck it again as it began to turn, huffing with the energy it took simply to hold her staff. The raging pain tearing against her skin from the inside seemed only to be growing by the second.

The beast seemed to run straight through the fireball she sent its way, stumbling back only momentarily when a stone fist connected with its chest. For a moment, Natalia thought the oncoming onslaught had been stalled; so much so that she barely had time to roll away from the block of stone that only missed her head by inches. She could only watch through her fatigue as the ogre took another fistful of stone from around the hole it had punched into the wall.

Rolling away once more, she cringed as the projectile smashed against the floor beside her, fragmented rock rebounding in all directions. Natalia never felt the tiny slivers of stone that tore across her skin. The only indication to her injury came when she saw the blood drip from her brow, distracting her long enough that she failed to see the ogre's charge until it was almost upon her.

A roar of effort sounded Alistair's arrival as he leapt at the creature, driving his sword deep into its shoulder and halting its advance.

Gripping her staff tightly, Natalia dragged herself to her feet, only to be nearly knocked back down by the thunderous shudder that reverberated through the floor as the ogre fell back. With a grunt, Alistair ripped his sword from its skin, rapidly replacing it through the beasts head and with a final guttural groan, it moved no more.

The two of them stared at each other wordlessly, and Alistair nodded with a tired smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, acknowledging Natalia's silent gratitude. The two men they had traversed the tower with lay broken upon the floor, one staring lifelessly at the ceiling where the other cried out in anguish, holding his ribs as he rested against the wall.

"You should check on him. I'll light the beacon." The mage gestured to the wounded soldier.

"Let's just hope it isn't too late."

The fear that simple comment elicited in Natalia's chest hurried her into action, using the last of her energy to shoot a wave of flame towards the opening in the wall, watching as the kindling at its base caught alight. The fire drew her in, her eyes tracing ever flicker of light.

_It's not too late. _She thought to herself, the worry in her heart offsetting the devastating pain beneath her skin. _Kallian will be fine. We're not too late._

Her attention was so caught that Natalia barely heard the wooden door crash open behind her. Only Alistair's gasp of pain was enough to make her turn, catching an arrow in the shoulder for her trouble. As she crashed to the floor, another arrow having embedded itself just above her chest she could only repeat her new mantra. _Kallian will be fine. But perhaps we won't _both_ make it out of here. _

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

"The King! Where is the King?"

Kallian's voice could barely be heard beneath the thunderous din of the battlefield as she tried to gain sight of the golden armour she had so watchfully guarded since the fighting began. Her fellow mages had fallen one by one, until alone, she was left lost and bloodied, separated from her objective.

The human monarch was a mad man, charging through the thick of battle alone. Most of his guard had already fallen, with only two men remaining to shield him from harm. And that was when last she had seen him, being stopped in her tracks by a Hurlock that had bundled her over, falling away from her only when she placed an icy palm against its face.

From her back she saw the Tower of Ishal in the distance and nearly cried with relief when flames erupted from its top. The beacon was lit; the flanking army would be coming.

It was enough to galvanise her into getting to her feet once more, eyes searching for the golden fool amidst the death and fire surrounding her. When at last she saw him he was on the other edge of the battlefield, his armour glinting in the firelight.

She set off towards him, casting a repulsion field around herself as she raced in his direction. Barrelling across the field, Darkspawn went flying backwards in her wake, the occasional archer picked off from range by a vicious bolt of flame.

When at last she was in range of Cailan, she set her protective shield around him, focusing her energy on holding it against the incoming threats that surrounded him. The last of his guards fell, cleaved in two right beside the King. Her shield deflected the arrows that were flying towards him, but she could only trust in his combative ability as he avenged his fallen comrade face to face.

Things certainly hadn't been going to plan. There had been three mages assigned to watch over the King. Three protective spells were certainly better than one. But protecting someone else made it a great deal harder to protect oneself, and those she had been working with had found that out quite quickly.

As if to prove the point, she failed to notice the incoming threat until she was flung back into the air, a heavy blow propelling her with what felt like enough force to have broken every bone in her body. Dazed, she watched through blurred vision as a towering creature made its way towards the King. An ogre, as large as any living thing she'd ever seen.

Hurriedly, Kallian cast a lifeward, desperate as Cailan turned to face the oncoming threat.

_Run,_ she thought. _Run you idiot._

Raising her hands, she readied an earthquake, one large enough she hoped to stop the ogre in its tracks, but a viscous slash against arm caused her to stumble. Disfigured hands grasped at her staff, pulling her towards their owner with urgency.

The stench of her foe was palpable, so much so she nearly gagged as one hand reached towards her and gripped around her throat.

With the life being slowly choked from her, she pressed a searing hand against the Darkspawn's cheek, watching as its wheezed laughter turned slowly to pain. The searing hand print on its face hissed furiously, and she had no time to run once it had dropped her before the explosion of its body sent her reeling.

Coughing, Kallian raised an unsteady hand to her neck, looking through the tears in her eyes to spot golden armour once more. The glinting caught her eye just ahead of her, and the breath left her once more as she saw Duncan, kneeling over the King's mangled corpse.

He looked about the battlefield and she couldn't help but do the same. _So much death._

Loghain's army was nowhere to be seen, and for the briefest second, she felt the cold hard sting of betrayal in her heart. Pulling herself from the ground however, it quickly disappeared as she met Duncan's eyes, and sorrow took hold of her instead.

_Run,_ he said, despite his lips never once moving. She nearly laughed hysterically at her own brains addendum; _run, you idiot. Or you'll end up another golden fool. _

Though as the Darkspawn closed in behind the Grey Warden Commander, she couldn't help but step towards him. She had never been the type to run, and she briefly wondered if she was feeling the same stubbornness that Cailan had felt as he faced the ogre; the same stubbornness that had gotten him killed.

Duncan shook his head, the Darkspawn almost upon him.

In thirty or so seconds, he would be swallowed by the horde. In thirty or so more, she would be swallowed along with him.

Kallian swallowed fearfully.

_Run, _she thought once more, backing away as fast as her feet would carry her. _Run and don't look back._

In the end, she never saw the Warden leader in his final moments, or the sword swing that took his head. Only the ground beneath her feet filled her vision, and treeline she aimed for in the distance. She never saw how fast the horde approached, cutting through those that fled behind her.

She never looked back once.

If she looked back, she was dead.


End file.
